Missouri Adopts Digital Assets Provisions
Missouri has enacted provisions regarding its Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act. These provisions are effective as of August 28, 2018.
Health Savings Account
The bill specifies that a health savings account may be created if the trustee of a trust consisting of trust property less than $250,000 concludes that the trust property is insufficient to justify the cost of administration. The trustee must also provide notice to qualified beneficiaries upon this determination. Under the previous provision, the amount of the trust property must have been less than $100,000.
A provision in this section provides that, where a trust or custodial account constitutes a health savings account, a trust may be created by the following methods: 1) a transfer of money to the trustee or custodian, 2) the documentation of the creation of a trust in the trustee or custodian’s records; or 3) the execution of a trust or custodial agreement.
Directed Trust
The term “directed trust” has been defined in the new provision as any trust in which the trust instrument does any of the following: 1) authorizes a trust protector to instruct or direct the trustee, 2) charges a trust protector with responsibilities regarding the trust, 3) grants power over the trust to the trust protector; or 4) grants power over the trust to a person who is not a trustee, settlor, or beneficiary of the trust. The term “trust protector” is further defined within this section.
No-contest Clause
In certain circumstances, a no-contest clause in a trust instrument is unenforceable against an interested person. The bill adds the following circumstances: 1) filing a motion, pleading, or other claim for relief concerning breach of trust by a trustee; and 2) filing a motion, pleading, or other claim for relief concerning removal of a trustee.
Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act
The bill establishes the Missouri Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act. The Act allows fiduciaries to access electronic records of an account holder. The account holder may allow or prohibit the disclosure or his or her digital assets to a fiduciary in a will, trust, or other record. The account holder also has access to an online tool, which can be used to direct the custodian of the digital assets to disclose some or all of the digital assets. A fiduciary’s access to digital assets can be modified or eliminated by an account holder, federal law, or a term-of-service agreement.
For the full text of House Bill 1250, please refer to https://house.mo.gov/billtracking/bills181/hlrbillspdf/4128H.01I.pdf.
Elizabeth Dailey, JD, is a Regulatory Compliance Director with CLA. She is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire and earned her juris doctor at New England Law. She is admitted to the Massachusetts Bar.
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